Top 10 Passwords You Should Never Use

Hackers use a string of common passwords and user names to penetrate unsecured PCs. If you thought you were being clever by using your user name as your password, note this: Fully 43 percent of all password-guessing attempts simply re-entered the user name. More

Twitter announces @anywhere: expanding tweets to more sites...

Twitter is expanding its integration tentacles by breaking ties with the APIs that developers have been using to incorporate the short messages into other sites and platforms.

A handful of sites will launch when Twitter flips the switch, though it didn’t say when that might be. Weeks? Months? The blog post by co-founder Biz Stone only used words like “soon” and phrases like “when we’re ready to launch.”

Upon launch, however, sites participating in @anywhere will be Amazon, AdAge, Bing, Citysearch, Digg, eBay, The Huffington Post, Meebo, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Salesforce.com, Yahoo!, and YouTube.

More Here

Dot-com marks 25th anniversary

These days, when everyone seems to have a Facebook friend, is LinkedIn or can Google themselves, it's hard to remember the old days, before the dot-com revolution.

It was 25 years ago -- March 15, 1985 -- that the first dot-com domain name -- Symbolics.com -- appeared on the Internet, ushering in the commercial age of the World Wide Web. More Here

Three arrested in alleged global hacking scheme...

Authorities have arrested three Spaniards suspected of infecting 13 million computers with a program that allowed them to steal personal and financial data worldwide, Spain's Civil Guard said... More Here

Five Ubuntu Features You Didn't Know About..

Psst. Hey, would you like to hear an Ubuntu secret? OK, how about five secrets?

The quest to discover something new and fresh about Ubuntu, which is arguably the world’s most popular and best documented Linux distribution, is an almost ridiculous one to accept and an almost impossible one to fulfill. I felt like the Mission Impossible character, Jim Phelps, as I read the request from my editor. I expected to see the words, “This is your mission, Ken, should you choose to accept it. This email will self-destruct in five seconds” at the end of that message.
More Here...

Microsoft Pulls Security Update...

Blamed For Windows XP Blue Screen Of Death Microsoft has stopped serving a security patch that has apparently triggered the infamous Microsoft Blue Screen of Death for a number of Windows XP users. More Here

German government warns against MS Explorer

The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security. The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems. More Here

Blog Talk Radio

Blog Talk Radio allows anyone, anywhere the ability to host a live, Internet Talk Radio show, simply by using a telephone and a computer.

Blog Talk Radio’s unique technology and seamless integration with leading social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Ning, empowers citizen broadcasters to create and share their original content, their voices and their opinions in a public worldwide forum.

Today, Blog Talk Radio is the largest and fastest-growing social radio network on the Internet. A truly democratized medium, Blog Talk Radio has tens of thousands of hosts and millions of listeners tuning in and joining the conversation each month. Many businesses also utilize the platform as a tool to extend their brands and join the conversation on the social web. http://www.blogtalkradio.com

Microsoft says Google was hacked with IE zero-day

Hackers linked to China used a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser to compromise corporate systems at more than 30 U.S. companies, including Google, Adobe and Juniper Networks.

According to Microsoft, the vulnerability is still unpatched and can lead to remote code execution attacks if a target is lured to a booby-trapped Web site or views a malicious online advertisement.

Microsoft’s confirmation, in the form of a security advisory, follows public statements from Google and Adobe that their corporate networks were breached by coordinated, sophisticated attackers based in China. More

Open Movie Editor

Its Web site states that OpenMovieEditor has been "... designed for basic movie making capabilities... [and] to be powerful enough for the amateur movie artist, yet easy to use".

In fact is found OpenMovieEditor to be a surprisingly capable NLE, modest in its stated goals yet possessing some features not commonly found in Linux NLEs. More Here

Windows XP on Linux Ubuntu with Virtualbox

Folding @ Home on Ubuntu: Cancer Research Made Easy

"Instead of a single computer taking a million days to calculate a problem, distributing the research load can allow for the same problem to be solved in ten days by a fraction of the machines.

"Contributing to Folding @ Home on Ubuntu is very simple, and can be done in just a few short steps. There are packages in the main Ubuntu repositories that support installation, management and removal of the Folding @ Home clients. Before I get into these, I'd like to outline what Folding @ Home actually does.

"To understand how the system works we first need to understand a few key underlying principles. Perhaps the most important is to answer the question: What are proteins?"

More Here

Protect yourself from COFEE with some DECAF

Two developers have created "Detect and Eliminate Computer Assisted Forensics" (DECAF). The tool tries to stop Microsoft's Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE), which helps law enforcement officials grab data from password protected or encrypted sources.

More Here

Company Trains the Autistic To Test Software...

Aspiritech, a Chicago based non-profit company, has launched a program to train high-functioning autistic people as testers for software development companies. The company says autistics have a talent for spotting imperfections, and thrive on predictable, monotonous work. Aspiritech is not the first company to explore the idea of treating this handicap as a resource. Specialisterne, a Danish company founded in 2004, also trains autistics. They hire their workforce out as hourly consultants to do data entry, assembly line jobs and work that many would find tedious and repetitive.

More Here

Countries prepping for Cyberwar:

Threats of cyber-warfare have been hyped for decades. There have been unauthorized penetrations into government systems since the early ARPANET days and it has long been known that the U.S. critical infrastructure is vulnerable.

More Here

Google poised to become your phone company...

Google is set to become your new phone company, perhaps reducing your phone bill to zilch in the process. Google has bought Gizmo 5, an online phone company that is akin to Skype but based on open protocols and with a lot fewer users. TechCrunch, which broke the news on Monday, reported that Google spent $30 million on the company.

More Here

Mixed Response to Astley iPhone Virus

iPhones across Australia lit up with the face of '80s crooner Rick Astley this week as a Wollongong TAFE student made international headlines for releasing the first virus to infect the popular smartphone platform.

The virus is able to reset the phone wallpaper to display an image of Astley (a practice known as rickrolling) on “jailbroken” iPhones.

More Here..

12 Celebrity Death Phishing Attacks

Phishers have been busy following the groundswell of celebrity deaths that have occupied recent news headlines. Although most attacks exploit Michael Jackson's death, hackers show they will take a chance on Patrick Swayze and anything else that will generate traffic.

Here are a few examples

The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down (1969)

That is so last decade, ten years of development...
Say hello to Your UMPC Future...



2010, Starting at... What's your budget... ?

Stupid User Tricks, Vol. 1

End users are IT’s worst nightmare. They have a nearly inexhaustible capacity for misusing and damaging equipment, misunderstanding instructions and applications, and ignorance for how technology works. The Spiceworks community of IT professionals and service providers maintains a rolling list of stupidest questions end users ask.

Here’s a sampling.

Install any Linux distro directly from hard disk without burning any DVD

"The prerequisite of this trick is to have an operating system already installed on your computer. This is obvious because unless you are able to boot into your machine, you can't install anything; and we are not going to boot from the Linux disk because we aren't burning any. Here I'm going to focus on Microsoft Windows as the pre installed operating system.

"Almost all Linux installers uses two files to boot the computer: a Linux kernel, and an initial root file system containing a minimal set of directories that is mounted prior to when the real root file system is available. This initial root file system is also called Ram disk (initrd). We will use these two files to boot our PC. Now lets get to the actual procedure."

More Here..

Earth bears scars of human destruction...

"It's a very thin veil of atmosphere around the Earth that keeps us alive," But there are some effects of the human destruction of the Earth as well."


More Here: http://bit.ly/y1jME


Find thousands of products that utilize alternative and renewable solar energy sources at: http://www.energylords.com

Virtualization for Dummies

Sun has introduced the power of virtualization to hundreds of businesses of all sizes, including Wikipedia, eBay, SmugMug, and several other fast growing social networking sites. Learn how you too can save energy, time, and money, and improve scalability with this guide to virtualization success.

Download your free copy of Virtualization for Dummies.

Never pay for 411 calls again, Using Google 411

Yes, you can take it with you.

PortableApps.com is the world's most popular portable software solution allowing you to take your favorite software with you. A fully open source and free platform, it works on any portable storage device (USB flash drive, iPod, memory card, portable hard drive, etc). With millions of users all over the world and a full collection of open source software as well as compatible freeware and commercial software and partners in the software and hardware industry, PortableApps.com is the most complete solution for life on the go.

Red Hat — Stand Alone Or Get Bought?

"It seems that this economy has inspired a lot of businesses to move to Linux, with Red Hat posting profits that beat everyone's expectations. There's a dark side to being a highly profitable company in a down economy, though — now there are talks of Citigroup and Oracle wanting to buy Red Hat. For a while now, we've been watching Yahoo fend off Carl Icahn and Steve Ballmer so that they could stay independent, but the fight seems to be a huge distraction for Yahoo, with lots of energy (and money) invested. Will Red Hat stay independent? What potential buyer would make for a good parent company?"

Posted by Soulskill on SD

The Conficker Worm: A CBS Video

The Conficker C Worm to hit computers April 1st.

In an event that hits the computer world only once every few years, security experts are racing against time to mitigate the impact of a bit of malware which is set to wreak havoc on a hard-coded date. As is often the case, that date is April 1.

Malware creators love to target April Fool's Day with their wares, and the latest worm, called Conficker C, could be one of the most damaging attacks we've seen in years.

Conficker first bubbled up in late 2008 and began making headlines in January as known infections topped 9 million computers. Now in its third variant, Conficker C, the worm has grown incredibly complicated, powerful, and virulent... though no one is quite sure exactly what it will do when D-Day arrives.

Thanks in part to a quarter-million-dollar bounty on the head of the writer of the worm, offered by Microsoft, security researchers are aggressively digging into the worm's code as they attempt to engineer a cure or find the writer before the deadline. What's known so far is that on April 1, all infected computers will come under the control of a master machine located somewhere across the web, at which point anything's possible. Will the zombie machines become denial of service attack pawns, steal personal information, wipe hard drives, or simply manifest more traditional malware pop-ups and extortion-like come-ons designed to sell you phony security software? No one knows.

Conficker is clever in the way it hides its tracks because it uses an enormous number of URLs to communicate with HQ. The first version of Conficker used just 250 addresses each day -- which security researchers and ICANN simply bought and/or disabled -- but Conficker C will up the ante to 50,000 addresses a day when it goes active, a number which simply can't be tracked and disabled by hand.

At this point, you should be extra vigilant about protecting your PC: Patch Windows completely through Windows Update and update your anti-malware software as well. Make sure your antivirus software is actually running too, as Conficker may have disabled it.

Microsoft also offers a free online safety scan here, which should be able to detect all Conficker versions.

'Tigger' Trojan Keeps Security Researchers Hopping...

It's malware that actually removes other malware from its victims' PCs. And so far, nobody is exactly sure how it's being distributed.

Security experts this week are buzzing about a new Trojan called Tigger.A, also known as Syzor. The data-stealing malware has quietly claimed about 250,000 victims since it was first spotted by security intelligence company iDefense in November, according to a Washington Post report.

Tigger.A allows attackers to gain access to "administrator" privileges on Windows machines, even if the user himself doesn't have those privileges, according to the report. It takes advantage of a vulnerability (MS08-066) in Windows' "privilege escalation" feature that Microsoft revealed -- and patched -- in October.

"Tigger removes a long list of other..... More Here

It's a Facebook Security World After All....

Koobface Variant Hits Facebook -- Again
In this scam, detected by researchers at Trend Micro, users receive a message with a link, purporting to be from a friend from the user's contact list, along with a spoofed version of YouTube. Once users click the link, they are taken to a site supposedly hosting a video that appears to be from the alleged sender, containing the name as well as the photo of the user's "friend" from his or her Facebook profile. Here

Facebook Corporate Security
The range of security threats around social networking sites, including LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and others, ranges greatly, Amit said. Here

Facebook Turns Site into a Democracy:
In addition to "poking" former classmates and updating your status update with what you had for lunch today, Facebook will now allow you to vote on the site's terms of service. Here

Microsoft Sues TomTom For Linux Patent Infringement.

Microsoft has gone and done it, they've filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming Linux violates their patents.

The case centers on portable GPS device maker Tomtom, which uses Linux in its device. Despite Microsoft claiming for years that parts of Linux infringe on its intellectual property, the case is believed to be the first time Microsoft has tried to prove a case against Linux in court.

Here

President Obama's homeowners aid package.

Feds Bust Nationwide H-1B Visa Scam

Silicon Valley has repeatedly urged Congress to raise the H-1B cap, which is currently set at 65,000 visas per fiscal year, but lawmakers have resisted, citing concerns over fraud in the H-1B program.

In October 2008, a USCIS report found that the H-1B program has more than a 20 percent violation rate. The fraud identified in the report included jobs not located where employers claimed, H-1B visa holders not being paid the prevailing wage, forged documents, fraudulent degrees and "shell businesses."

Even before the report was issued, Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Bernie Sanders of Vermont were seeking reform of the H-1B visa program. A bill introduced in the 110th Congress by Grassley and Durbin would require employers to make a good-faith effort to hire American workers first. Employers would also have to show that the H-1B worker would not displace an American worker.

More Here



Vince at Facebook

Scientists are Losing Federal Grants..

Scientists are Afraid to Debate Global Warming for Fear of Losing Federal Grants..

"They’ve seen too many of their colleagues lose grant funding when they haven’t gone along with the so-called political consensus that we’re in a human-caused global warming."

Seventy global warming skeptics are going to speakat the International Conference on Climate Change next month. More Here

Vincent at Facebook

Introducing Google Latitude

With Google Latitude, you can:

* See where your friends are and what they are up to
* Quickly contact them with SMS, IM, or a phone call
* Control what your location is and who gets to see it

From your mobile phone - View your friends' locations and status messages and share yours with them.

From your computer - View your friends' locations and status messages on a full screen even without a compatible phone or data plan.

Link and Video Here
http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html
http://www.google.com/mobile/default/latitude.html

Hydrogen Hopes

01/24/09: President Obama's Weekly Address

Three Million and Counting hit by Windows worm

A worm that spreads through low security networks, memory sticks, and PCs without the latest security updates is posing a growing threat to users.

The malicious program, known as Conficker, Downadup, or Kido was first discovered in October 2008.

Although Microsoft released a patch, it has gone on to infect 3.5m machines.

Experts warn this figure could be far higher and say users should have up-to-date anti-virus software and install Microsoft's MS08-067 patch.

According to Microsoft, the worm works by searching for a Windows executable file called "services.exe" and then becomes part of that code.

It then copies itself into the Windows system folder as a random file of a type known as a "dll". It gives itself a 5-8 character name, such as piftoc.dll, and then modifies the Registry, which lists key Windows settings, to run the infected dll file as a service.

Once the worm is up and running, it creates an HTTP server, resets a machine's System Restore point (making it far harder to recover the infected system) and then downloads files from the hacker's web site.

Most malware uses one of a handful of sites to download files from, making them fairly easy to locate, target, and shut down.

But Conficker does things differently.

Anti-virus firm F-Secure says that the worm uses a complicated algorithm to generate hundreds of different domain names every day, such as mphtfrxs.net, imctaef.cc, and hcweu.org. Only one of these will actually be the site used to download the hackers' files. On the face of it, tracing this one site is almost impossible.

Speaking to the BBC, Kaspersky Lab's security analyst, Eddy Willems, said that a new strain of the worm was complicating matters.

"There was a new variant released less than two weeks ago and that's the one causing most of the problems," said Mr Willems

"The replication methods are quite good. It's using multiple mechanisms, including USB sticks, so if someone got an infection from one company and then takes his USB stick to another firm, it could infect that network too. It also downloads lots of content and creating new variants though this mechanism."

"Of course, the real problem is that people haven't patched their software. If people do patch their software, they should have little to worry about," he added.

Technicians have reverse engineered the worm so they can predict one of the possible domain names. This does not help them pinpoint those who created Downadup, but it does give them the ability to see how many machines are infected.

"Right now, we're seeing hundreds of thousands of unique IP addresses connecting to the domains we've registered," F-Secure's Toni Kovunen said in a statement.

"We can see them, but we can't disinfect them - that would be seen as unauthorized use."

Microsoft says that the malware has infected computers in many different parts of the world, with machines in China, Brazil, Russia, and India having the highest number of victims.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/7832652.stm

The Venus Project



The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. There are many people today who are concerned with the serious problems that face our modern society: unemployment, violent crime, replacement of humans by technology, over-population and a decline in the Earth's ecosystems.

The Venus Project is dedicated to confronting all of these problems by actively engaging in the research, development, and application of workable solutions. Through the use of innovative approaches to social awareness, educational incentives, and the consistent application of the best that science and technology can offer directly to the social system, The Venus Project offers a comprehensive plan for social reclamation in which human beings, technology, and nature will be able to coexist in a long-term, sustainable state of dynamic equilibrium.

For More Information: Click Here

CAUTION, IDIOT SIGHTINGS: Just Be Careful Out There!

IDIOT SIGHTING:
We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, 'NO, it's not.' Four is larger than two..'

We haven't used Sears repair since.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
My daughter and I went through the McDonald 's take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back.' She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said 'We're sorry but they could not do that kind of thing.' The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change.

Do not confuse the clerks at McD's.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'

From Kingman , KS .

IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE:
My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

From Kansas City

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' T o which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded,'That's why we ask.'

Happened in Birmingham , Ala.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!'

She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS

IDIOT SIGHTING:
At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to 'downsizing.' Our manager commented cheerfully, 'This is fun. We should do this more often.' Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.

This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs office, no less.

IDIOT SIGHTING:
When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'its open!' His reply, 'I know. I already got that side.'

This was at the Ford dealership in Canton, MS

And, the scary part is.... They VOTE and they REPRODUCE..

Solar powered, Linux robot sailboat to conquer the Atlantic.

Few types of transport require as much thinking per mile as sailing - the sailor has to measure the speed and direction of both the water and the wind, which can constantly change, and then manage an array of sails and underwater hydrofoils at the correct angles to create motion in the desired direction. Navigation is its own challenge too, as it's impossible to sail directly into the wind and boats must 'tack' forward in zigzag patterns to make progress. All of which makes it quite remarkable that a group of European enthusiasts have created a Linux-brained autonomous sailboat.

More Here

Why the Latest IE Flaw Proves Linux Got it Right From the Start

"While that doesn't tell us much, the knowledge base article (or "KB") 960714 referenced does spill the beans.

"Fundamentally, it was discovered that program code -- of a malicious person’s construction -- be executed on your computer, if a user views a specially crafted web page with IE.

"In particular, a rogue script can allocate a block of memory (an array) then apparently release it without updating the array's length, meaning that the block of memory still remains preserved.

"Then, if data binding is enabled (which it is, by default), a rogue web page can take advantage of an incorrect handling of certain XML tags within IE to cause the browser to pass control to the supposedly free memory location."

More here

The 12 Days of Christmas (EFF-style).

Blagojevich Sells More Stuff!

IBM Virtual Desktop Bundles Lotus & Ubuntu to Freeze Out Microsoft.

IBM teams with Ubuntu provider Canonical and virtual desktop software maker Virtual Bridges on a bundle that lets systems administrators deliver open-source Linux and Lotus messaging and collaboration software to desktops and workstations across remote offices. Such virtualization deployments, IBM claims, enables great IT infrastructure savings for cost-conscious enterprises.

Link: Click Here

Your music anywhere with Subsonic..

Subsonic is a free, web-based media streamer, providing ubiquitous access to your music. Use it to share your music with friends, or to listen to your own music while at work. You can stream to multiple players simultaneously, for instance to one player in your kitchen and another in your living room.

Subsonic is designed to handle very large music collections (hundreds of gigabytes). Although optimized for MP3 streaming, it works for any audio or video format that can stream over HTTP.

More Here

President-Elect Barack Obama in Chicago

Obama's infomercial

Vinyl + Audacity = MP3

If you were born before 1975, you may have a collection of records that you want to convert to digital format. Some open source software and a cable are all you need to convert your prized vinyl to something portable.

If all you want to do is create MP3 files from you LP tracks, the only software you'll need is Audacity. If you want to convert vinyl to CD, you'll need cdrdao and cdrecord as well. All are readily available in most distributions' package repositories or from the projects' sites.

More Here

A baby named Linux

Christian Nielsen wrote from Sweden, he and his girlfriend
have named their baby Linux..



More Here

Clean up your filesystems with fslint

Maintaining filesystems can be a real administration burden. Over time you might start getting multiple copies of the same file, soft links that point to files that no longer exist, temporary files that have been hanging around longer than they should, and binaries that have been installed and not had their debugging information stripped out. fslint can help you find these troublesome files so you can clean up your filesystem.

More Here

Be Linux...

Solar Technology - The Power of the Cell!





If you are interested in learning exactly how to generate solar power and reduce your electric bill than this is the perfect resource for you.
For More Details: Click Here

Should IT form a union?

Sixty-hour work weeks with no overtime or comp time, a BlackBerry hitched to your belt 24/7, mandates from managers who have no clue what you actually do – all for a job that could be outsourced tomorrow. Is it finally time for technology workers to form a union and demand better working conditions?

More Here

Why Linux Continues to Evade Mainstream Users

Winpass. Repair lost access due to a lost or corrupted password issue with this software? Again, as this is designed to bail out Windows users, one must admit there is a certain pride to be taken in using a Linux distro to crack a lost Windows password.

CloneXP. Cloning a Windows partition easily, over a home network is something that will definitely save you a lot of time. No worries, though, it will be at a Linux command prompt where all of this magic happens.

Trk2usb. One of the most requested items of business for any rescue CD is the ability to forgo the CD and use a USB Flash drive, instead. Thankfully, Trinity allows for using this script.

Ntfsundeleteall. Nothing is worse than finding out your PC has lost all of its data. Considering how easy it is to have a hosed Windows system, there is certain logic to using a script that can act as a recovery agent for any lost NTFS files. Again, the entire process is done from a Linux command line.

More Here

Canonical to Offer Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop through Ubuntu

Zimbra has announced that Canonical, sponsors of Ubuntu, the fastest growing Linux distribution, will give users direct access to Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop, which provides a centralized hub to manage multiple e-mail accounts and calendars online and offline, through the Ubuntu Partner Repository. Zimbra, a Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) company, is a leader in open source, next-generation messaging and collaboration software.

More Here

Turn OpenOffice.org into a Web-editing tool, it's like a live FrontPage.

Imagine being able to open any Web page on your server in OpenOffice.org, edit it, and save the changes back to the server by pressing the Save button. It may sound too good to be true, but that's exactly what the ODF@WWW project is set to achieve.

Started as a relatively simple hack, ODF@WWW has become a nifty solution that allows end users to create and edit Web pages in OpenOffice.org.

The good news is that end users don't need to know anything about all the technicalities. Once installed and configured, ODF@WWW does the job in the background, providing seamless integration between the user's Web server and OpenOffice.org.

More Here

Ultamatix a successor to Automatix for new Ubuntu and Debian users.

Some Ubuntu fans out there may remember Automatix, a tool for Ubuntu that allowed easy access to many popular non-free applications and commonly-used audio and video codecs. It debuted a few years ago, and got negative reviews from Ubuntu developers and experienced users due to the risk of breaking dependencies, but it offered an easy solution for beginners who weren't familiar with the way deb packages worked. Automatix was discontinued in March, when its developers moved on to other projects. Now Ultamatix hopes to continue where Automatix left off.

More Here

The Beauty of Linux 3-D

Google Website Optimizer Takes the Guess Work out of Site Design

When you make changes to your site design, it’s not always easy to figure out how the changes affect traffic and visitor behavior. That’s where the Google Website Optimizer tool comes into play. You can experiment with two or more designs and see which one works best to achieve your design goal. Best of all, this tool is free.

The typical site design process involves some people sitting together and choosing the design they think is best. The decision is usually based on a gut feeling, rather than anything close to a scientific method. What’s more, few companies have the resources to sit with focus groups to find out which design most people prefer, so it comes down to opinion, and even an informed opinion is not always right.

More Here

Create video animations with Linux

Want to create an animation on GNU/Linux and then convert it to a video file? Well here is one way to do it that does not involve GIMP Animation Package (GAP). While there is nothing wrong with the GIMP GAP method, you might just find it useful to know about an alternative way of doing it that might just work for you. Maybe you are running into problems with GAP or you wish greater flexibility and control over your frames.

More Here

Linux tools to convert file formats

Life would be a lot easier if we could live in a Linux-only world and if applications never required data from other sources. However, the need to get data from Windows, MS-DOS, or old Macintosh systems is all too common. This kind of import process requires some conversions to solve file format differences; otherwise, it would be impossible to share data, or file contents would be imported incorrectly.

More here

Manage and play audio files over the Web with Ampache

Ampache is a LAMP application that gives you a Web interface to your music collection, allowing you to search, rate, and play your music over the network. It even offers transcoding support to allow clients to play back lossless-encoded FLAC files from the server and stream them to clients as MP3 audio files.

More Here

How To Install SELinux on Ubuntu 8.04

1. Update /etc/apt/sources.list by appending the following:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-hardened/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-hardened/ubuntu hardy main

Update repo:
apt-get update

3. Install updated packages:
apt-get upgrade
These packages have SELinux support patches:
libpam0g
openssh-server
grub
login

4. Install selinux:
apt-get install selinux
These packages will be removed:
apparmor
apparmor-utils

5. Reboot

If using aptitude instead of apt-get, you will need to manually remove apparmor and apparmor-utils, deselect selinux-policy-dummy, and then choose selinux-policy-refpolicy.

Happy 4th of July

Open Source Data Recovery Tools To The Rescue

Disasters happen to the best of computers. Luckily, open source apps like SystemRescueCD, dd, Partedmagic, BackTrack, Security Tools Distribution, Helix, and TestDisk can help recover important data and bring dead systems back to life.

More Here

Free Sourcefire tool pinpoints hostile MS Office files

Sourcefire, the company behind the popular Snort intrusion detection system, has released a freeware utility to help identify potentially threatening Microsoft Office files.

The tool, called OfficeCat, can be used to process Microsoft Office documents — Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Publisher — determine if possible exploit conditions exist.

Unlike products that detect attempts to exploit known Microsoft vulnerabilities, Sourcefire said OfficeCat can determine if a file contains hostile content before it is opened.

Link: http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1307

Free legal music downloads.

A new legal music download service offers MP3s free at the point of delivery. the New York-based www.Spiralfrog.com will be fully funded by advertising.

Spiralfrog will make the entire Universal back catalogue available at no charge, including current hits like Razorlight and Johnny Hallyday, together with its roster of classics from the likes of Stevie Wonder. Independent labels will be hosted too, along with video content. There are currently 40 illegal downloads to every single legal one. Spiralfrog will be pitching to the tech-savvy 13 to 34-year-olds.

The standard download charge at iTunes is currently at $1.00 per track. Whether Spiralfrog's entry will prompt a rethink at the dominant player remains to be seen. There is no mention of which audio codec or DRM solution will be used, although it is very likely that the record labels will insist on some DRM being in place.

And, on that note. Happy Downloads.

SnakeBite MP3 Converter

SnakeBite is an audio conversion application that can convert your entire music library to MP3 in a single step. SnakeBite is designed for those who use libre audio formats like Vorbis and FLAC, but also need their music in the MP3 format.

Simply choose the source folder (containing your music) and the destination folder (where the music converted to MP3 will go), and SnakeBite does the rest. After it has finished, the destination folder will contain the exact same folders and files as the source folder, except all the files will have a ".mp3" extension and will be encoded in the MP3 format. Your original music library is never altered in any way.

More Here: http://www.gnomefiles.org/app.php?soft_id=2342

Watching Live-TV On Your Ubuntu Desktop With Zattoo

A company called Zattoo has developed a software program that allows you to watch TV on your computer. All you need is a broadband connection and a current operating system (Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS X, or Linux). The service is legal and free of charge.

Check it out at:
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/watching-live-tv-on-your-ubuntu-desktop-with-zattoo.html

Rogue MP3 Trojan streaks across networks.

Since Friday more than half a million computers have been infected, according to McAfee. The Downloader-UA.h Trojan serves ads onto contaminated PCs as part of an apparent money-making scam.

McAfee reckons miscreants loaded hundreds of rigged MP3 and MPEG files onto popular file-swapping services such as Limewire and eDonkey. The files are all named differently (in multiple languages) and vary in size in order to make them appear like legitimate music or video files.

Attempting to play one of the malicious files will trigger the download of an application named "PLAY_MP3.exe" that serves ads onto infected Windows PCs.

Adobe's Open Future, Open Screen Project.

Adobe made huge announcements regarding opening up the Flash Player. Effective today, there will be no restrictions on the SWF specification or the FLV specifications that make up video in Flash. before you had to sign an agreement not to use it to create competing players. But, thanks to there Open Screen Project all of those restriction are bye, bye.

The goal of the Open Screen Project is to enable a consistent runtime environment across a wide variety of devices and desktops. The next release of the Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices will have no licensing fees meaning you can distribute and deploy them anywhere. As part of this, Adobe is also publishing the device porting layer APIs. The device porting layer APIs are what Adobe uses to take the core of the Flash Player and make it work on different operating systems and devices. This will blow Microsoft's Silverlight out of the water. Well done Adobe.

10 Things You Don't Want To Hear From Technical Support.

1) "Do you have a sledgehammer or a brick handy?"

2) "That's right, not even McGyver could fix it."

3) "So -- what are you wearing?"

4) "Duuuuuude! Bummer!"

5) "Looks like you're gonna need some new dilithium crystals, Cap'n."

6) "Press 1 for Support. Press 2 if you're with 60 Minutes. Press 3 if you're with the FTC."

7) "We can fix this, but you're gonna need a butter knife, a roll of duct tape, and a car battery."

8) "In layman's terms, we call that the Hindenburg Effect."

9) "Hold on a second... Mom! Timmy's hitting me!"

10) "Okay, turn to page 523 in your copy of Dianetics."

(Bonus) "Please hold for a Microsoft attorney."

Things to do on your new Ubuntu Linux 8.04

Ubuntu 8.04 was released a few days back and here is a list that helps you install all the essential codecs and applications easily on your Ubuntu 8.04 desktop saving your googling time and helping you make transition from Windows to Ubuntu. More Here

By Ambuj Varshney

It is a documented fact that Windows can...

It is a documented fact that Windows can destroy computer hardware due to virus attacks. There are some Windows viruses that can damage the hard drive by speeding wear and tear, and others can turn off the fans, thus overheating the CPU. Some viruses make the CPU run too fast, and then make sudden halts, which not only affects the CPU, but it also hurts hard drives and fans.

Read More Here: http://www.raiden.net/?cat=2&aid=307

Shuttleworth starts countdown to Ubuntu 8.04 release

The next red-letter day for Ubuntu fans will be April 24, when Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support) arrives. Mark Shuttleworth, the CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, guarantees that the next version of the popular Linux distribution will make it on time, with something for enterprise, desktop, and Internet users.

In an interview, Shuttleworth made the point that, while many executives have yet to realize it, "Open source software projects and Linux distros are actually better than proprietary companies at hitting deadlines." In particular, Shuttleworth says, "Companies are now comparing Linux with Vista, and it's clear that's Linux does a better job of meeting people's expectations.

More Here

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Managing The GRUB Bootloader With QGRUBEditor On Ubuntu 7.10

QGRUBEditor is a graphical frontend for managing the GRUB bootloader. By using QGRUBEditor, you do not have to mess around with the GRUB configuration in /boot/grub/menu.lst anymore. This article shows how to install and use QGRUBEditor on Ubuntu 7.10.

http://www.howtoforge.com/managing-grub-with-qgrubeditor-on-ubuntu7.10

Mark Shuttleworth blames ISO for Microsoft's Office Open XML Win

“It’s sad that the ISO was not willing to admit that its process was failing horribly,” he said, noting that Microsoft intensely lobbied many countries that traditionally have not participated in ISO and stacked technical committees with Microsoft employees, solution providers and resellers sympathetic to OOXML. “When you have a process built on trust and when that trust is abused, [ISO] should halt the process.”

More Here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2222

By Paula Rooney

Six Future Open Source Superstars

In the world of open source software Red Hat’s crossed over from exciting leader to respectable elder statesman. The action is among the new batch of up-and-coming open source software companies who are not yet venture backed but are developing interesting technologies and services. Here are some of the companies that may well be the new open source superstars.

More Here: http://linuxbusinessnews.sys-con.com/read/529607.htm

By: Mark R. Hinkle

Matrix XP

Play Windows games on Linux with PlayOnLinux

If you are an avid gamer, you probably dual-boot your favorite Linux distribution with Windows, because that's where you find most new cutting-edge games. But what if you could run your Windows games on Linux? PlayOnLinux is an open source Python-scripted front end that helps you install and play tons of Windows-only games -- and then some!

More Here: http://www.linux.com/feature/128773

By M. Sharma

Good malware hunting for Linux

Linux has proved to be much more resistant to malware than Windows, especially when it comes to viral infections, but any remote exploit makes it just as susceptible to worms, trojans, and rootkits as any other platform. Given all the fuss in the news recently about compromised Linux/Apache servers being responsible for infecting Windows users with malware when they visit those compromised sites, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at three of the best rootkit/malware detection tools available for Linux desktop and SOHO users. Here's a brief comparison of three popular choices: Chkrootkit, Rootkit Hunter, and Ossec.

Read more and get it here:
http://www.linux.com/feature/128450

Software Freedom Law Center
Publishes Legal Guide on Free Software

The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), today published a legal guide which acts as an in-depth introduction to the legal issues surrounding FOSS.

The guide, written by members of SFLC's staff, covers a variety of legal topics and their practical application to free software development. These topics include copyrights and licensing, organizational structure, patents, and trademarks.

The guide is available at: http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/foss-primer.html

Turn your computer into an internet TV

Miro ROCK'S under LINUX! And, yes there is a Windows Version...

Play virtually any type of video file - Quicktime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, XVID, and more. Browse your collection, make playlists, stay organized.

Your computer screen is a high-definition display. Miro gives you access to more free HD content than any other video player. Sit back and watch gorgeous HD video fullscreen.

Subscribe to any video RSS feed, podcast, or video blog. Explore and subscribe to over 2,500 free channels with the built-in Miro Guide. New channels added daily.

Download and save videos from YouTube, Google Video, Dailymotion, and more. You can even save a search term and automatically get new videos as they are posted.

"Free and open-source, because open media matters."

Get it here: http://www.getmiro.com

Lunar Eclipse: This Wednesday..

A total eclipse of the Moon will occur this Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event will be visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21). During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.

Details at NASA's Website :
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html

How to recover your boot password under Linux

you can recover using the following steps

Turn on computer

Press ESC at the grub prompt

Press e for edit

Highlight the line that begins kernel ………, press e

Go to the very end of the line, add rw init=/bin/bash

press enter, then press b to boot your system.

The system will boot up to a password-less root shell

Type in passwd username

Set your password

Type in reboot

That's it.... It's fixed...

Google intros Team Apps edition to bypass the IT department..

Google released a new edition of its hosted applications suite that end-users can bring into the workplace without the involvement of their IT department.

The new release, called Google Apps Team Edition, is available for free. It is aimed at employees who are interested in using Google Apps but whose employers haven't signed up for it.

So far, more than 500,000 mostly small organizations have signed up for Google Apps, but the other versions -- Standard, Education, Partner and Premier -- require IT to implement the suite because its services are linked to an organization's Internet domain.

Once signed up with Team Edition, people can see who else in their organization's Internet domain is also a user, and invite those who aren't.

Read more here:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/020708-google-intros-apps-edition-to.html

Check it out here:
http://www.google.com/apps/business/index.html

Firefox: a toolbar trinity.

Firefox rocks because it acts like a Lego set -- you have your base module, and then you can stick extensions on it. Some of the most obvious extensions are toolbars. Unlike the embedded-application extensions like Chatzilla or FireFTP, toolbars actually modify your interface.

A toolbar can contain search engine interfaces, bookmarks, RSS feeds, or extra tools for managing content. A lot of toolbars are very specialized -- tools for multimedia producers, musicians, and even Mormon theology students. Here are three more general toolbars that any net junkie will find useful.

Read more here: http://www.linux.com/feature/126291

10 secrets you should know about being in IT...

10.) The pay in IT is good compared to many other professions, but since they pay you well, they often think they own you...

9.) It will be your fault when users make mistakes...

8.) You will go from hero to zero multiple times within any given day...

7.) Certifications won't always help you become a better IT person, but they can help you land better pay...

6.) Your nontechnical co-workers, friends and family will use you as their own personal technical support pee-on for their home and business systems...

5.) Most vendors will take all the credit when things work well and then blame you when things screw up...

4.) You'll spend far more time babysitting old technologies (can you say XP) than implementing new ones (can you say Linux)...

3.) Veteran IT (Old Warhorse) professionals are often the biggest roadblock to implementing new technologies (can you say XP again)...

2.) Some IT professionals deploy technologies that do more to consolidate their own power than to help the business (not me)...

1.) IT frequently use jargon to confuse nontechnical business people to hide the fact that they screwed up (can you say not me again)...

A few stories about the Microsoft embrace and extend Yahoo nightmare..

Euro lawyers see tortuous road ahead for Microsoft's Yahoo! bid..
Microsoft is likely to face a torrid time from European regulators before it can even think of closing its proposed takeover of Yahoo!. A leading UK competition lawyer told the Reg today: "Any big Microsoft acquisition is likely to be looked at very carefully, especially if it is in an area where they have been complaining about their rivals - I wonder if there is anything in the documents Microsoft filed in its complaint to the EU about Google which they are now regretting."

Read more about here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/01/ms_yahoo_competition

Yahoo! buy would give Microsoft ownership of open source e-mail & projects. Ugh.
Let’s forget about search for a moment, and Microsoft’s obvious need to buy a leading online company or face extinction. Microsoft’s proposed $45 billion buy of Yahoo would give the Redmond, Wash company control over a top open source e-mail company, open source projects and an open source infrastructure. On September 17 of 2007, Yahoo bought Zimbra for $350 million. Yahoo’s infrastructure is built on BSD. Yahoo has released a myriad of software to the open source community and even sponsors some open source projects. So this deal would put Microsoft directly into the open source software business.

Read more about here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=1962

Will The Open Source World Welcome Microsoft-Yahoo Combo?
Microsoft has confirmed that it’s seeking to acquire Yahoo! Some folks — you know, the open source crowd — will likely bash a proposed Microsoft-Yahoo combo. The VAR Guy, however, is willing to give Microsoft a chance to explain the proposed business combo. Here’s why. First, a little background. Search engine giants like Google and Yahoo rely heavily on Linux, the LAMP stack and custom open source projects. And Microsoft has been trying to re-invent the LAMP stack with WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, and related tools), notes Mary Jo Foley’s Microsoft Watch blog.

Read more about here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/02/01/will-open-source-world-welcome-microsoft-yahoo-combo

Zimbra Proponents Fear Microsoft-Yahoo Combo
When Yahoo acquired Zimbra in September 2007, some Zimbra backers worried Yahoo would mismanage the open source email asset. Fast forward to the present, and some Zimbra proponents have gone from concern to outright panic over Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo (and, by attachment, Zimbra).

Read more about here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/02/01/zimbra-proponents-fear-microsoft-yahoo-combo


Our only hope is that the EU will kill this deal.....

Tweaking Hidden Ubuntu Settings With Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is a tool that lets you change hidden Ubuntu settings, for example: hide or change the splash screen, show or hide the Computer, Home, Trash, and Network icons, change Metacity, Nautilus, power management, and security settings, etc.

Currently Ubuntu Tweak is available only for the Ubuntu GNOME desktop, i.e., it will not work on Kubuntu or Xubuntu.

This short guide shows how to install and use Ubuntu Tweak.

http://www.howtoforge.com/tweaking-hidden-ubuntu-settings-with-ubuntu-tweak

Get it here: http://ubuntu-tweak.com

Etelos CRM for your personal iGoogle homepage..

Etelos CRM™ for iGoogle and Google Apps is a feature-rich Customer Relationship Management application that gives any business the ability to automate and manage customer follow up. The features available in Etelos CRM for iGoogle and Google Apps are powerful, yet simple to use. The product is available in four editions: Personal, Professional, Enterprise, and Developer.

You can check it out here: http://www2.etelos.com

Linux Work Progressing on Army's Future Combat Systems.

The Future Combat System is envisioned as a networked 'system of systems" that will include robotic reconnaissance vehicles and sensors; tactical mobile robots; mobile command, control and communications platforms; networked fires from futuristic ground and air platforms; and advanced three-dimensional targeting systems operating on land and in the air.

Boeing and the Army said they chose not to use Microsoft's proprietary software because they didn't want to be beholden to the company or to endure too many system crashes.

Read More Here:

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/ic/fcs/bia/index.html

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/fcs.htm

Installing Oracle XE under Ubuntu – it’s easier than Windows..

First you have to add a repository to your sources.list

"sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list"

add: "deb http://oss.oracle.com/debian unstable main non-free"

Now update you repository: "sudo apt-get update"

Now execute the command to install Oracle XE: "sudo apt-get install oracle-xe"

Oracle XE will be downloaded now, you have to press Y (yes) twice to get the following message:

You’re now asked for the port numbers of Oracle Application Express (apex) and the database listener. port 8080 (web) than port 1024 (listner) default setings.

The final steps are entering a password for SYS and SYSTEM and tell the system you want to load Oracle on boot time.

Now go to http://localhost:8080/apex (or http://127.0.0.1:8080/apex) you’re ready to go.

if you need to change the default port numbers for any reason it can be done in sql-plus
(located at /usr/lib/oracle/xe/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/server/bin)

code:

SQL> begin

2 dbms_xdb.sethttpport(’8081′);

3 end;

4 /

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

Sources:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/install/xe-on-kubuntu.html
http://daust.blogspot.com/2006/01/xe-changing-default-http-port.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/htdocs/oracleonlinux_faq.html

Scribus: Professional page layout for Linux

Whenever people discuss software that they would like to see ported to Linux, they mention desktop publishing (DTP) applications like Adobe InDesign and QuarkXpress. But Linux already supports an application aimed at DTP users. Scribus is an open-source page layout program that runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. Is it a viable alternative to proprietary products for professional production work?

Read More Here: http://www.linux.com/feature/123592

Why Larry Ellison loves Linux (and he’s not alone)

If you thought open-source software was a threat to big-company profits, think again.

Just a few years ago, the open-source software movement was a pariah among big software firms. Shai Agassi, then an executive at SAP (SAP), likened it to socialism. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called it a cancer. The attitude among many in the establishment seemed to be that the “free code” revolution led by software such as Linux would discourage invention and erode profits.

That nightmare scenario hasn’t happened. Instead, the open-source movement has helped lower the cost of computing, and fueled a lot of moneymaking innovation, and not just among scrappy startups. For just one example, consider Oracle (ORCL), which is likely to highlight open-source trends as one of the growth drivers in its business when the company reports quarterly earnings today.

How? Last quarter, the business software giant pointed out that its database market share actually tends to improve when customers move to Linux, which has been a fast-growing server operating system for much of the decade. And Oracle is poised to capitalize on open-source trends in other ways. For instance, the company distributes Linux for free, and makes money by offering support.

So far so good: earlier this year CEO Larry Ellison reported that Oracle is in the early stages of selling high-margin Linux support contracts, some for as much as $500,000 a pop. Ellison claims the open-source strategy is also helping to lure database business away from competitors. “We’re just taking share right away from IBM on mainframes and we’re taking share away from Microsoft using Linux,” he told analysts in September.

The Linux love-fest doesn’t stop with Oracle. Google (GOOG), which already uses Linux-based servers to power its search platform, also wants to tap its open-source infrastructure to deliver more and more software over the Internet. (Google’s Android cell phone platform will also be based on Linux.) VMWare (VMW) has long been a Linux-friendly shop. Co-founder Mendel Rosenblum has praised it as a natural fit for the company’s virtualization software, which is all the rage these days as companies seek to cut data center costs by using the software that lets one computer do the work of many.

Beneath the surface, the companies are making similar bets on the profit power behind open source. All are wagering that if the cost of a computing platform drops far enough that everyone can afford it, there will be opportunities to make money by helping customers to use fascinating software and services on top of it. In Oracle’s case, it’s profiting from software and support; in Google’s case, from advertising, and in VMWare’s case, from helping people run more programs without buying more equipment.

It still remains to be seen whether the open-source approach has a shot at eventually becoming the most popular force in computing. Some powerful companies still don’t think so. Microsoft (MSFT), which believes it can do better than the open-source community, continues to do well in the server business — there are even signs in the most recent IDC server report numbers that Windows server growth is outpacing Linux. And Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone certainly doesn’t use an open-source operating system –- Steve Jobs likes to point out that it runs the same software as full-fledged Mac computers.

Nevertheless, it clear these days that open-source software is far from the profit killer some feared. Just ask Larry Ellison.

This is why I use Firefox

Windows Explorer was quarantined by Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software after being identified as malicious code. The company's systems confirmed that a virus called Huhk-C was present in the explorer.exe file, leading to its confinement or, in some cases, deletion. The bug was only live in the wild for a few hours, and ended up affecting a few thousand home computer users.

Repeat after me.... "I am sick and tired of all the problems I have with Windows, from now on I'm gonna use Linux and Firefox..."

A Politically Correct Christmas Story

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves".
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And labour conditions at the North Pole
were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their rooftops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."

And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose
And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,
Demanding millions in over-due compensation.
So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,

Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.
And as for the gifts, why, he'd never had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic.

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.

He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you've got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you.
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...
May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.

How to enable sound in VMware Server

Now that you have your Host Linux and Guest Windows OS running, you can now run your M$ Windows applications. And, improve your virtual OS experience by adding sound so that you can listen to music, watch videos, play games, etc. By default sound is disabled in VMware Server for the Guest OS, the following steps will show you how to enable sound.


1. Launch VMware as root: [sudo vmware]
2. Open the virtual machine you want to add sound to (the machine should not be powered on, if it is, shut down).
3. Click “Edit virtual machine settings.
4. Under the Hardware tab click “+ Add”.
5. Choose “Sound Adapter” and click Next.
6. Select Auto Detect from the drop down menu.
7. Make sure “Connect at power on” is enabled.
8. Click Finish.

Power on your machine and login. If you have VMware Tools installed, Windows should automatically detect your virtual audio drivers. You should now be able to hear audio and system beeps. You can also control the volume using both Windows’ volume control and any hardware volume control buttons you have. Keep in mind that the volume in your Guest OS is dependant on your Host OS. That means if your volume is muted in Linux, you will not hear anything in Windows even if you set Windows’ volume to max. Also, if your volume in Linux is only set to halfway, the loudest you can hear anything in Windows will also be halfway.

Additionally, if you want to enable the use of USB devices in your Guest OS, follow the same method as above and choose USB controller instead.